The seventh ingredient is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.2

The eighth ingredient is liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The ninth ingredient is meat by-products, an item made from slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of slaughtered animals after all the prime striated muscle cuts have been removed.

With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this item can include almost any other part of the animal.2

Although most meat by-products can be nutritious, we do not consider such vaguely described (generic) ingredients to be as high in quality as those derived from a named animal source.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With three notable exceptions…

First, we’re always disappointed to find artificial coloring in any pet food. That’s because coloring is used to make the product more appealing to humans — not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his kibble is?

Next, we note the inclusion of onion and garlic extracts both controversial items. In rare cases, onion and garlic have been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs5.

However, the limited professional literature we surveyed provided no definitive warnings regarding the use of onion or garlic — especially used in small amounts (as it likely is here).

And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

Skippy Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Skippy canned dog food looks like a below average wet product.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

When you consider the protein-boosting effects of the soybean meal as well as the peas and vegetable protein found in some recipes, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing only a moderate amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Skippy canned dog food is a plant-based wet product using only a moderate amount of chicken or chicken or meat by-product meals as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 1 star.

Not recommended.

Special Alert

Because we’re unable to locate complete label information for this product on the company’s website, we’re compelled to rely on older data that may no longer be accurate.

So, recipe changes and ingredient substitutions may not be apparent to our research staff or consumers.

For this reason, we recommend shoppers use caution when considering the purchase of any dog food listed in this review.

Special FDA Alert

The FDA has announced it is investigating a potential connection between grain-free diets and a type of canine heart disease known as dilated cardiomyopathy. Click here for details.

A Final Word

The descriptions and analyses expressed in this and every article on this website represent the views and opinions of the author.

The Dog Food Advisor does not test dog food products.

We rely entirely on the integrity of the information provided by each company on its product label or its website. As such, the accuracy of every review is directly dependent upon the data a company chooses to share.

Although it's our goal to ensure all the information on this website is correct, we cannot guarantee its completeness or its accuracy; nor can we commit to ensuring all the material is kept up-to-date on a daily basis.

Each review is offered in good faith and has been designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food.

However, due to the biological uniqueness of every animal, none of our ratings are intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in a specific dietary response or health benefit for your pet.